Reviews Archives - Page 43 of 130

Imperator: Rome: The Kotaku Review

I’ve been wondering for years what a Paradox grand strategy game would look like if it was designed for regular humans, and in Imperator: Rome I have my answer. As long-time readers may know, I’m a big fan of Paradox’s grand strategy games, Crusader Kings II and Hearts of Iron IV especially. They’ve got a…

By Luke Plunkett Published April 25, 2019

ReviewsMultiplatform

SteamWorld Quest: The Kotaku Review

I never know exactly how I’m going to approach each new battle in SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech. No matter how much I plan and prepare ahead of time, I can’t control the cards that end up in my hand in this turn-based role-playing card game. Perfect optimization is always a few steps out of…

By Ethan Gach Published April 25, 2019

ReviewsPS4

Days Gone: The Kotaku Review

It’s worthwhile to think about the number of people around you who are waiting for the world to end. There are people who must do it for a living: government employees who specialize in disaster relief and crisis response, civil engineers, military personnel—people who must imagine the end to make sure it never comes. But…

By Joshua Rivera Published April 25, 2019

ReviewsMultiplatform

Mortal Kombat 11: The Kotaku Review

2015’s Mortal Kombat X signaled the beginning of an evolutionary turn for Netherrealm Studios’ storied fighting game series, featuring fresh new characters, a compelling story and the ability to select different fighting styles for every combatant. Mortal Kombat 11 continues this evolution, but not every aspect of the game is moving in the right direction.…

By Mike Fahey Published April 24, 2019

ReviewsMultiplatform

Cuphead: The Kotaku Review

Cuphead turns players into perfectionists. The long-awaited hand-drawn action game is full of cartoony boss battles that demand enough precision and focus that even a single hit of damage feels unacceptable. Playing Cuphead is like a stage performance; every mistake is embarrassing, but the curtain call of each defeated boss is like nothing else. This…

By Heather Alexandra Published April 18, 2019

ReviewsMultiplatform

Heaven’s Vault: The Kotaku Review

“Stories don’t have tidy beginnings,” says the main character of Heaven’s Vault, outer space archaeologist Aliya Elasra, at the beginning of the game. “The past is always present.” I was immediately enthralled. I often see people hyper-simplifying history in bad faith and weaponizing it as propaganda, so I was excited to play a game that…

By Nathan Grayson Published April 16, 2019

ReviewsMultiplatform

The Division 2: The Kotaku Review

A few days after The Division 2 first went on sale and after an initial wave of positive reactions, the game’s players discovered a big problem. Some of the gadgets in this giant Ubisoft game about shooting bad guys in a ravaged Washington DC weren’t working correctly. In battle, I could crouch my pseudo-soldier hero…

By Stephen Totilo Published April 16, 2019

ReviewsMultiplatform

Fortnite Battle Royale: The Kotaku Review

It’s hard to say how Fortnite is turning out because it keeps turning into something else. Skins and storylines come and go. Landmarks appear and disappear. Weapons are added and removed. Recently, a mysterious excavation site appeared, but it was dug up and abandoned by the time I got there the next day. As I’m…

By Riley MacLeod Published April 8, 2019

ReviewsSwitch

Yoshi’s Crafted World: The Kotaku Review

I think I fell in love with Yoshi’s Crafted World when I discovered the costumes. You don’t know cute until you’ve seen Yoshi running around the place in a little shonky cardboard cow outfit. My heart melted. This piece was first published on March 27, 2019. We’re bumping it today for the game’s release. Sweet…

By Keza MacDonald Published March 27, 2019

ReviewsMultiplatform

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice: The Kotaku Review

In Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, the thread between life and death is tenuous. As the One-Armed Wolf, a loyal shinobi seeking to save a young noble with a cursed bloodline, you traverse a feudal Japan so saturated with the remnants of war that the idea of mortality becomes fickle: dead bodies blending in with the…

By Natalie Degraffinried Published March 26, 2019

ReviewsMultiplatform

Devil May Cry 5: The Kotaku Review

Devil May Cry 5 is a wild mess of demonic magic, blood, brooding twinks, butt rock music, kung-fu homage, and joyous gameplay. By the end of it, I had killed literally thousands of demons and watched struggles of Biblical proportions. The experience itself is a blur, but I know two things for certain. The first…

By Heather Alexandra Published March 8, 2019

ReviewsMultiplatform

Apex Legends: The Kotaku Review

I don’t try to be the best in battle royale games. I don’t troll or anything, but I’m not as concerned with skillful wins as I am with having fun or coming away with an exciting story. But Apex Legends makes me want to try. I also get some great stories in the process. Apex…

By Riley MacLeod Published March 1, 2019

ReviewsMultiplatform

Dead Or Alive 6: The Kotaku Review

Despite several years of being best-known for its sexiness, Dead or Alive has always been a genuinely good fighting game franchise. With a focus on bringing new players into the fold and downplaying its more provocative features, Dead or Alive 6 serves as a strong reminder of the solid gameplay that has always remained at…

By Mike Fahey Published March 1, 2019

ReviewsMultiplatform

Anthem: The Kotaku Review

Every once in a while, a game comes along that that does something surprising, different, memorable. Anthem is not one of those games. Much of this PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC game feels incomplete, while other portions are borrowed from games that did it better. The things that make Anthem special, like flying through…

By Ethan Gach Published February 25, 2019

ReviewsMultiplatform

Trials Rising: The Kotaku Review

I look at my watch. It’s 9:48pm. I’ll do one more Trials Rising track, I think. After that, since I’m only two levels away from the next stadium challenge, I do a few more. The stadium challenge turns out to be a tough bastard that makes me want to bite my controller in half, but…

By Keza MacDonald Published February 25, 2019

ReviewsMultiplatform

Metro Exodus: The Kotaku Review

I take my anxious first steps into a desolate post-winter wasteland. All around me, I hear mutants scratching and snarling. One sights me. Three more follow. I rise to fire my rifle. It jams. I feel frightened, vulnerable, out of sorts. But also, at home, like I’ve stumbled into a lucid dream shared by Far…

By Nathan Grayson Published February 20, 2019

ReviewsPS4

Yakuza Kiwami: The Kotaku Review

The Yakuza series combine deep melodrama with exploration through vibrant city streets. Yakuza Kiwami is a remake that recreates the feeling of the original game, adding new features to streamline the experience. It’s a glorious crime story that benefits from a fresh coat of paint. This piece was first published on August 28, 2017. We’re…

Heather Alexandra & Luke Plunkett Published February 19, 2019

ReviewsMultiplatform

Crackdown 3: The Kotaku Review

It’s been a while since I’ve played something as refreshingly uncomplicated as Crackdown 3. You’re a big dude (or lady) with genetically-engineered superpowers and a whole lot of guns. Out there is a futuristic city stuffed with militia and hostile robots. And after the briefest preamble, you’re free to absolutely go to town on it.…

By Keza MacDonald Published February 15, 2019

ReviewsMultiplatform

Far Cry New Dawn: The Kotaku Review

By the end of Far Cry 5, the modern world was no more. Washed away in a gout of nuclear fire, all there was left to do was retreat into our bunker and lament the loss. Far Cry New Dawn moves forward from that set-up. Mechanically, it is the same game we’ve been playing since…

By Heather Alexandra Published February 15, 2019

ReviewsPC

Civilization VI: Gathering Storm: The Kotaku Review

For Civ fans, the future has been set in stone since October 2016: no matter how good Civilization VI was at launch, it wouldn’t be done until it had gotten two expansions. Well, now it’s got them. Building on the contentintroduced in 2018’s Rise & Fall, and adding a whole raft of its own new…

By Luke Plunkett Published February 14, 2019